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This audio is available in streaming format
Reviewer:
Ridiculous_Person -
Subject:
Amazing Start To '77
I'm completely blown away by this. This is the best Playin' I've ever heard. They never lose focus, they always listen to one another, and everyone plays an innovative part. Sometimes, I feel like during Playin' they kind of fall asleep at the wheel. Here, when The Wheel comes up, they certainly aren't asleep. This is the standout for me at this show. Phil's bass solo is a great segue into Dancin'. The playing is tight and crisp all the way through. This compliments 5-8-77 nicely.
Reviewer:
Folkhippy -
Subject:
Worthy of its reputation
Ever since I started collecting shows, I have seen 2/26/77 on every "best tapes" list I came across. Before listening to this show, I had heard all of the great '77 era shows, including every Betty Board and AUD for the month of May. 1977 is one of my favorite years for a number of reasons. After listening to the entire May '77 run, I have often wondered how a show like 2/26 could still be so prominent on '77 go-to lists when there was so much to chose from in May, October, November, or December. In my opinion, the first shows of a new tour (throughout the Dead's career) tended to be good, but I never really felt they were as smooth and inventive as shows played two or three months down the road. For example, the first show of the '73 tour, 2/9/73 Roscoe Maples Pavilion, is a favorite "best show" according to a lot of people, but I would pick any show from the month of June over it.
So I approached 2/26/77 with this same attitude...and boy was my paradigm proven wrong. This show is every bit as magnificent as Barton Hall. The sound quality is quite good, but the band is just playing completely together during the whole show. Jerry's solos are well formed and come straight from his heart. Truly amazing Help>Slip>Franklins, that's for sure.
There is nothing like a Grateful Dead concert, and there is nothing like a '77 show. The booming punch of Phil's flat-picked Alembic bass; the bright metallic sound of Jerry's aluminum-necked Travis Bean guitar and Fender Twin Reverb amp; Keith's beautifully constructed piano phrasing; Bobby's thin rhythm chime; and the hypnotically in-sync Mickey and Billy make '77 my favorite year. Thanks for capturing this moment of greatness Betty.
Reviewer:
sammytown -
Subject:
HHHH...Half Hippies, Half Hell's Angels
What can you say about the most amazing Grateful Dead Concert ever! Standing 25 -30 rows back on the main floor we were pushed by the crush of the crowd all the way to the front row when the boys came on stage. Then after Terrapin Station I heard some rookie standing next to me say to his friend, "What happened? Is the show over already?"
Reviewer:
myhungryhippo -
Subject:
terrapin opener
what a treat... it is worth checking out, specially the solo's in by jer&phil
beautiful betty board (BBB)
Reviewer:
hampton87 -
Subject:
77
crisp crisp...its hard to believe that i went to my first show a little over ten years after this show was played. seems like yesterday. this sounds soooooo good. i am grateful 4.9773 stars
Reviewer:
zeroenvy -
Subject:
Keith tears it up!
Great mix, Great recording, Keith is really slamming on his keys tonight. The end of the 1st set is amazing as well as the whole show. Too young to ever have seen the dead, So this review is based off ears only, not experience. This is one of the best!
Reviewer:
spirit of eden -
Subject:
Swing Aud 2.26.1977
This was one of the first shows a good friend of mine from Iowa City whom studied at U of I gave me in my early years of Dead appreciation ( 1993 I was 18 ] . Thanks Barry .
The entire show is a gem
My 1st three tapes as a beginning head were Park City UT Aug 20 , 1987 . Richfield OH March 14 , 1993 & March 11 , 1993 Rosemont IL
Months later I was given this , Kezar 73 and a couple other things . Thanks again Barry for giving me some prime Dead as a beginner in those years
Jaime G
Reviewer:
TheKramRellim -
Subject:
GD firster for me in my home town !
I saw concerts at the Swing during my High School years. Black Sabbath,Johnny Winter,Blue Oyster Cult,ELP.etc. My cousin saw Jimi Hendrix there and The Beatles in Las Vegas. Anyway I sat way up in the balcony where my only concern was drinking Southern Comfort and rolling joints. It wasn't until after the show that I realized something special had been afoot onstage. The tapers and few remaing Deadheads gave me the clue. I found a button on the floor as a token.
Reviewer:
NYLifer -
Subject:
St. Stephen Tease
Jerry teases St. Stephen at the end of Promised Land before gliding into Eyes. Great show, great transfer.
Reviewer:
Augy -
Subject:
Only show with no drums and Jerry into a Moog I ever saw!
Also, this is the only time I ever saw Phil do a distinct bass solo; during "Eyes of the World", of course. Those of you who saw them in '73-'74 may have, but after this, he pretty much stopped that. This is my third show, and believe it or not I actually think this was the weakest of my amazing first four, i.e. that's how great the other three were in my opinion! The best of these I think was the fourth one, namely at The Forum 1977/6/4 i.e. just prior to the more well known Winterland shows in June. The other two being the second of each of following the pairs: with "The Who" at Oakland Stadium 1976/10/10 and at L.A.'s Shrine Auditorium 1976/10/15!
The Swing was a strangely built building for a concert! (By the way it no longer exists because apparently a plane crashed into it after E.L.P., being the last band to play there shortly after Grateful Dead played there in Dec. '80; (which was also a great show, and the only one I ever passed out at, but that's another story)! (What the hell does E.L.P. have to do with it, nothing other than the coincidence which I explain below). The following if you'll bare with me, is some historical context of this show and as you know, it started a new era for the band, in addition to simply the new compositions that is, also new devices facilitating the new compositions etc.
Starting with what is simply weird about the Swing but of lesser significance, since it's only noticeably on the audience tape; I got from a fellow who recorded from "a" balcony. Why I saw "a" balcony is because, there were only balconies on either side, yet not in the back like most rectangular buildings, such as, for example, Winterland or the Oakland Aud. (Kiaser). Those had their long axis running to and from the stage.
The Swing on the other hand, was at a 90 degree angle to more common configuration, i.e. it's width was much longer than it's length from the stage towards the audience. Hence, the audience tape I had before the "Betty Board" came out, sounded very lopsided! Despite this, it had an uncut "Franklin's Tower" unlike the first board I got! However, unfortunately the fellow from whom I got my first board copy, was unwilling to let me do the dub it myself, yet he didn't pay enough attention to the contents of recordings were prior to copying it. So consequentially, I lost the intact audience "Franklin's Tower" having been recorded over with the board which was cut in "Franklin's Tower". So, I was relieved that it's been patched here!
What's more significant but not readily apparent, is the mention of "technical difficulties" by Bob Weir early in the first set; (not that equipment delays were very unusual but this one was unique). That is, here Steve Parish was rigging Garcia into a Moog synthesizer which Keith played ever so briefly!
One gets the distinct impression that Keith apparently disliked electric keyboards. This is understandable given how primitive synthesizers were at this early time! Moreover Billy K. was interviewed in B.A.M. magazine around the time of Brent's first show, stating there was room for improvement in the technology which came since obviously they used them extensively later on. How much did this have to do or not with Keith's eventual exit from the band? I did hear something when Brent came in the band, that they were looking for "more sustain", as can be produced with electric keyboards.
Other evidence for this is a show a Texas later this same year, but I wasn't in attendance so I can't say for sure yet Keith seems to have left the stage after very briefly playing an "electric" during the beginning of "Playin' in the Band"? (Perhaps it's not appropriate to characterize Keith in this way since at least the following year he played for example, at the outdoor show at my alma mater when I was a freshman, at U.C. Santa Barbara, an electric "Fender Rhodes" piano), as well as an organ on a few tunes during his first rehearsals in '71.
So, back to Garcia, who just started using the "Unity Gain" effects loop into his volume knob on his guitar five months prior to this, at the show the day before my first show (i.e. the 1st one with "The Who" at Oakland Stadium" 1976/10/9). Here at the Swing was the first use of the new "Mutron" envelope filter, (synthesizer-like device), which still at this early time apparently had to be piped through a Moog synthesizer, configured as such for this debut of "Estimated Prophet" yet it was odd to see Jerry plugged into Keith!
Now, I'm not saying Dead Heads in general feel as my personal friends at the time did who weren't too enthused by bands such as E.L.P. which among others used synthesizers extensively, however I was more open minded. I remember pointing out to my friend as Steve Parish was plugging Jerry into the Moog since we were up in the front of this $7.50 general admission concert.
The state of the art at the time was that synthesizers could only play a single note at a time i.e. monophonic, and only Keith Emerson at the time had a keyboard capable of polphony until later. Another coincidence, is that the only other famous professional guitarist that I ever saw play live using a "Travis Bean" guitar besides Jerry Garcia was Greg Lake, (Jerry's had a sticker on it saying "The enemy is listening"); not that that has anything to do with it but it is still true!
Some of you may remember around '89ish when briefly, (which I only saw once at The Forum in Inglewood, Ca.), Parish bring out a gray Stratocaster with a big box, (Roland Synthesizer?), attached to the bridge for Jerry to noodle on during the "Improvisation" section; (I refuse to call it "Space", since there is no air in outer space, hence no sound). I knew folks who felt this is one of the best early renditions of "Slipknot!" I myself am kind of bias, since it was the only one I saw before they brought it back out at Tempe, Ariz. in '83!
Augy
San Diego
Reviewer:
Zdarks -
Subject:
Taking me places!
The second set was a gateway to the universal mind,one of the most epic sets right in-between Blues of Allah and Terrapin station some awesome jams and Eyes just takes you places and slipknot is like a depiction of the knowledge of the elders, its just blazin
This is defiantly one i wish i was alive for
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